Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 337)

This bibliography lists 400 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during May 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

National Culture: Understanding the Impact of Cross-culture on Airline Pilots\u27 Safety Performance in the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) Region

The continuous expansion of Middle Eastern airlines has created a pilot shortage. Since the local pilot population in the Middle East is relatively small, airlines have been relying on foreign pilots to satisfy their operational requirements. Consequently, pilots with diverse cultural perspectives have been operating together. In order to manage this cultural diversity and ensure safe operations, airlines have been applying a number of training and operational strategies such as Crew Resource Management (CRM) with emphasis on adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). However, CRM was designed and implemented by North Americans as a solution for human factor intricacies among North American pilots, and thus, CRM is not culturally calibrated to accommodate pilots from other regions in the world. The analyses of Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) information acquired from a Middle Eastern airline aided in understanding the influences of cultural diversity on airline operations. This analysis helped in understanding the impact of cross-culture among airline pilots on three relevant unsafe performance events: hard landings, unstable approaches, and pilot deviations. The study was conducted using a descriptive comparative method to analyze the relationship between unsafe performance events and captain / first officer nationality combinations during flights where performance events were recorded. The flight data were retrieved from an unchanged flight data-recording environment yielding robust detailed data that was combined with administrative demographic data. Tests of associations were used to understand the relationship between unsafe performance events and nationality combinations. These associations were illustrated through multi-dimensional chi-square tests. A comparison of cross-cultural and homogeneous flight deck crew combinations from unsafe performance events was examined. Additional analyses were conducted to predict group membership through discriminant analysis and multinomial logistic regression. Several Spearman\u27s r correlation tests were conducted to assess the influence of intervening demographic variables on the association between nationality combinations and unsafe performance events. While cause-and-effect relationships between variables could not be determined in this research design, association variations between variables were made evident. ANCOVA statistical tests were conducted to control for the effect of: age of captains / first officers, airport destinations, and eligibility to command the flight on the relationship between nationality combination and unsafe performance events. The Spearman\u27s rank correlation test indicated significant weak correlation between destination airport and unsafe performance events, as well as, eligibility to command the flight and unsafe performance events. A 7 by 7 multi-dimensional chi-square test indicated that there was a relationship between certain pilot nationality combinations and unsafe performance events categories for pilot deviations and all unsafe performance events together. Moreover, the discriminant analysis test results showed that there was a significant effect of some nationality combinations on unsafe performance events. Results obtained from the analyses buttress the literature that certain cultural traits and beliefs influence pilots\u27 behavior and attitudes and may jeopardize safety levels. CRM skills may be weakened as a result of heterogeneous nationality combinations. It is recommended to conduct further research on current CRM training concepts in order to improve its effectiveness among cross-cultural crewmembers

Urban Air Mobility Market Study

The Booz Allen Team explored market size and potential barriers to Urban Air Mobility (UAM) by focusing on three potential markets – Airport Shuttle, Air Taxi, and Air Ambulance. We found that the Airport Shuttle and Air Taxi markets are viable, with a significant total available market value in the U.S. of $500 billion, for a fully unconstrained scenario. In this unconstrained best-case scenario, passengers would have the ability to access and fly a UAM at any time, from any location to any destination, without being hindered by constraints such as weather, infrastructure, or traffic volume. Significant legal and regulatory, weather, certification, public perception, and infrastructure constraints exist, which reduce the market potential for these applications to only about 0.5$2.5 billion, in the near term. However, we determined that these constraints can be addressed through ongoing intra-governmental partnerships, government and industry collaboration, strong industry commitment, and existing legal and regulatory enablers. We found that the Air Ambulance market is not a viable market if served by electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles due to technology constraints but may potentially be viable if a hybrid VTOL aircraft are utilized

Product maturity and architecture evolution in complex industries

Introduction -- The evolution of industries -- literature review -- The aviation simulation and training industry -- Hypothesis and research methodology -- Summary of research findings -- Research findings -- simulation devices -- Research findings -- the simulation products suite -- Research findings -- aviation training services -- Discussion -- Conclusion, limitations and further research

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 182, July 1978

This bibliography lists 165 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in June 1978

Cardiac Function, Pupillometry, Subjective Workload and Performance of Commercial Pilots During Jet Airplane Handling Manoeuvres

Projected demand for commercial pilots is expected to exceed current training programs. As such, next-generation training programs are focused on developing competencies through practice sessions targeting specific manoeuvres. These sessions are most effective when conducted near a trainee’s maximum workload. Thus, measuring and understanding the relationship between workload and performance in the cockpit is of prime importance. Currently, workload measurement in the cockpit relies on subjective measures. More recently, heart rate, heart rate variability and pupillometry have shown promise as objective, continuous indicators of workload. We investigated relationships between these psychophysiological measures, NASA-TLX subjective workload ratings and aircraft handling performance in commercial pilots flying a jet airplane simulator. We found that (1) heart rate and heart rate variability patterns were stable between participants, showing clear differences between manoeuvre types, but not manoeuvre difficulty, (2) pupil diameter is not an effective measure of workload in the simulator cockpit, likely due to the differences in brightness, and (3) psychophysiological measures of workload can supplement subjective workload reports to better understand performance

A proficiency-based technical skills curriculum for laparoscopic surgery

Imperial Users onl

Interactions of technology and society: Impacts of improved airtransport. A study of airports at the grass roots

The feasibility of applying a particular conception of technology and social change to specific examples of technological development was investigated. The social and economic effects of improved airport capabilities on rural communities were examined. Factors which led to the successful implementation of a plan to construct sixty small airports in Ohio are explored and implications derived for forming public policies, evaluating air transportation development, and assessing technology

Proceedings of the Air Transportation Management Workshop

The Air Transportation Management (ATM) Workshop was held 31 Jan. - 1 Feb. 1995 at NASA Ames Research Center. The purpose of the workshop was to develop an initial understanding of user concerns and requirements for future ATM capabilities and to initiate discussions of alternative means and technologies for achieving more effective ATM capabilities. The topics for the sessions were as follows: viewpoints of future ATM capabilities, user requirements, lessons learned, and technologies for ATM. In addition, two panel sessions discussed priorities for ATM, and potential contributions of NASA to ATM. The proceedings contain transcriptions of all sessions